The Dhofar Mountains
Country: Oman | Climate: Subtropical | Coordinates: 17.0°N, 54.1°E | Max. elevation: 1,761 m a.s.l.
Jabal Qamar is the greenest of Dhofar’s three mountain ranges, where steep, forest-cloaked escarpments capture the life-giving monsoon mists. Towering coastal cliffs rise more than a thousand meters above the Indian Ocean, while the majestic Wadi Sayq, a vast, untouched canyon wilderness, harbors some of the richest biodiversity in all of Arabia.
Each summer, the khareef sweeps in from the Indian Ocean, shrouding Dhofar’s mountains in mist. It conjures a subtropical world within Arabia’s arid heart - a living paradox where cloud forests drink from the sky. Here, fog condenses on leaves and ferns, feeding the land with as much water as rainfall itself. It is a delicate equilibrium: a landscape stretched to its ecological limits, fragile under the pressures of climate change and overgrazing.
In the expansive grasslands and wadi systems of Jabal Qara, biodiversity faces pressures from growing rural human and livestock populations. Nonetheless, these mountains remain a vital corridor for wildlife movement across Dhofar and wildlife continues to thrive within the vast wadis and pockets of subtropical cloud forest.
This is a realm shaped by three continents - African, Asian, and European - a crossroads of life where evolutionary stories converge. Nowhere else on Earth do caracals, hyenas, and leopards from Africa roam alongside wolves from the north. Between the Indian Ocean to the south and the Empty Quarter’s sands to the north lies a cradle of endemism - species that exist in no other place on Earth.
Jabal Samhan is home to the largest remaining wild population of Arabian leopard. This breathtaking landscape boasts Dhofar's highest peak, descending into lush cloud forest on the steep escarpment towards Mirbat. Stretching inland to the vast gravel desert, epic wadi systems with caves, cliffs and oasis intersect the plateau, most of which is unexplored - terra incognita.
At night, the call of the Arabian leopard echoes through the wadis, answered by the distant howls of wolves. Blue lizards shimmer on sun-warmed rocks. Endemic toads call from hidden pools. Desert roses bloom from bare stone, and ancient groves of Commiphora and frankincense trees perfume the mist. It is a sanctuary of life - fragile, irreplaceable, and utterly unique.
